Heart of a lion: an interview with Arise Roots

There are times when you are introduced to music that makes you feel as though you are floating while you listen. It’s just pure goodness to your soul…and makes you feel so damn good! Since 2010, Arise Roots from Los Angeles, California has brought true reggae into a genre (and a country) that is constantly […]

DENM drops “Wild Trip” with Landon McNamara

DENM — SoCal’s favorite bad boy (and rad dad) — teams up with the son of the North Shore, Landon MaNamara, in the first collaboration from the Slum Beach Posse aptly named, “Wild Trip”, released via Ineffable Records on August 25th. The first of what is sure to be many, this group effort came to […]

Reggae Rise Up Vegas returns for Fall 2022

From the Reggae Rise Up camp comes the second of three yearly nationwide festival installments, this time at the downtown Las Vegas Events Center the second weekend in October. Last year’s Reggae Rise Up in St. Petersburg, FL hosted over 15,000 festival-goers, with numbers for the other two festivals expected to reach or surpass in […]

Reggae Rise Up Maryland 2022: Day Two

Some walked, some ran, others skipped, but no one missed Day Two of the first-ever Reggae Rise Up Festival in Baltimore, Maryland. For the second day in a row, festival-goers were lucky to experience 11 straight hours of feet-moving music. Gates swung open at noon with music starting an hour later, leaving ample time to […]

Slightly Stoopid concludes Summer Traditions Tour with hometown celebration

Labor Day Weekend has always traditionally symbolized the end of summer. To celebrate, Slightly Stoopid and friends brought the Summer Traditions Tour to a close in their hometown of San Diego. Amid an unprecedented southern California heat wave, fans braved the scorching sun to sing and dance with friends and family to the tunes of […]

Bikini Trill drops “F*cked Up” single & video, feat. BLESSED

Los Angeles’ own surf-pop / reggae outfit Bikini Trill has released a new self-produced single with Australian rapper BLESSED entitled “Fucked Up”, alongside an accompanying cartoon music video by animator SHOKKA. A nod to the complications of relationships, the animated video gives a colorful, visually stimulating peek into the intimacies of interacting with lovers (and […]

Dirty Heads’ eighth studio album ‘Midnight Control’ slaps

One thing I love about Dirty Heads is while they have an extremely signature sound, it’s still nearly impossible to put your finger on exactly what makes Dirty Heads the Dirty Heads. I opened the listening link for Midnight Control, the Huntington Beach five-piece’s eighth studio album, a couple weeks ago. I had no idea […]

Shooting the sh*t with Sublime tribute band Badfish

I was fully stoked to have a sit-down with Joel Hanks of Badfish — a bassist extraordinaire who shares his story of his band and his brothers. And, when I say ‘brothers’, I mean Scott Begin on drums, Pat Downs on lead vocals and guitar, and Danny on horns.  This is their journey to (40 […]

Michael Franti’s stormy performance at Jannus Live, St. Petersburg

Bringing your kid to a concert on a school night is the coolest thing ever. Just ask Michael Franti and all the kids that got to jam out with their parents this at Jannus Live in St. Petersburg, Florida the other night… They’d most likely tell you it was an experience of a lifetime. Though […]

A magical night with Jack Johnson in Lake Tahoe

It was a beautiful evening in Lake Tahoe and such a great day to escape the 110 degree heat in the Sacramento Valley to witness legends performing live — Jack Johnson and Ziggy Marley! Harvey’s outdoor arena is set amongst the pine trees and the sky was the perfect backdrop for Jack’s Meet the Moonlight […]

Bumpin Uglies goes big with new ‘Mid-Atlantic Dub’ album

I’ll be honest: I freaked out a bit when Brandon Hardesty messaged me the other week, asking if I wanted to listen to their new album and write a review. I knew it would be amazing, but how the hell was I supposed to put their genre-defyingly awesome music into words that could actually do […]

Stick Figure drops much-needed ‘Wisdom’

It’s been no secret these past few months that the symbol for American reggae, Stick Figure, was coming out with a new album. Even though I covered a few of the singles myself, what I honestly wasn’t expecting was for this full feature-length masterpiece to absolutely blow me away. The 14-song album titled Wisdom — […]

Rap meets reggae with Atmosphere & Iration in Irvine

On August 26th, the Sunshine & Summer Nights co-headlining tour with Iration and Atmosphere made its Irvine stop at FivePoint Amphitheatre. They were supported by two other American reggae and rap icons The Grouch and Passafire.   The night started out with Passafire getting things warmed up. They have always have a high-energy set that really makes […]

WORLD VIDEO PREMIERE: Chris Bowen Vibes “Brand New”

Blues rock-infused reggae artist Chris Bowen Vibes feels “Brand New” in the new music video by Raised Fist Propaganda! Top Shelf Music has the privilege to premiere the official visualizer before it hits public channels, giving you a sneak peek of what Bowen brings to the table. Bluesy meets beachy in this anthem of the […]

A talk with Jeremy Anderson of TreeHouse!

I had a great feeling this band was all about the great vibes… I got to talk with TreeHouse!, a reggae rock band that puts you in such a great space in your mind and soul when listening to their music. When their music comes on, all of a sudden, you feel light… you feel […]